Review Copies And Cover Art

Well I pushed the print button. Now I have to wait for another 48 hours to see if everything was submitted perfectly and the copies can start churning off the presses. It’s an odd feeling, like I sat some sort of final exam and now I have to wait for the results to see if I passed.

I thought I would feel like running crazily through the streets. I’m, ah… doing a good deal of sitting.

It’s funny how much of the book is about us, even though I’m not really trying to make it that way. I’ve always been in love with that photo and it just worked out nicely for the cover. I have no idea what I had said to her, but I was clearly instigating as she’s making the half poked out tongue and wrinkled nose face at me. It’s our whole relationship at a glance.

So anyway…. waiting waiting… and yes I will be sure to have ways to buy the book posted everywhere just as soon it is done. I am eager to take your money.

There’s still room in the budget for more review copies for bloggers and whatnot. Drop me a line at Athol(dot)Kay@ Gmail(dot)com.

I’m deeply appreciative of how so many people have encouraged me to write and finish the book. Life is good.

I am in the book business and have designed book covers, one of which became an international #1 bestseller: NYT, WSJ, US Today, 53 countries.

Please take this as constructive criticism. Your book cover is very poorly designed. The font choice is not good. The font size is too small on the back cover. The layout plain sucks.

The back cover copy is meh. The "What if what you need" line should end with a question mark. The "What if you really need" line is clunky and would work better without the "if".

Furthermore, the copy screams "so what"? You have hints of what could be, but it does not do it. A book cover is your book's Unique Selling Proposition and this cover screams "unprofessional". This is going to doom your book to the self-published trash bin. Whoever designed this book cover should look for other work.

Also, I would not have used a wedding photo as the main grab point on the front cover. You want your book to speak to the potential reader, to get the buyer hooked. A cutesy wedding photo does not do it, IMO.

I'm not Abbe, but I think it should look more "medical?" That's not the right word, but since Athol mentioned that he remembers reading "The Hite Report," why not do a riff on that, in red, black and white? With a prominent mention of "Game" and "Alpha?" This almost looks like Chick Lit and I cannot believe men are going to like reading this on the beach. Put the nice pic of you and Jennifer under the author's note.

Not having read the book, I can't answer this definitively. Book covers should distill the essence of the book, or hit the target market in the kisser. A wedding photo on the cover of this book–is this the USP you are looking for? What distills "married man sex life"? As a potential reader, I don't care about your wedding or your life. I want to know what your book is going to do for me.

The book title might keep women from buying the book. Wouldn't it be good to target women as much as men, since they are hopefully involved in a married man's sex life?

People want more sex. They want exciting sex. They want it now and all the time.

Men want blowjobs. They want variety. They want spice in their sex lives. How to keep a man from going all beta, herb, and squishy?

Women want their man to be take-charge. They want a hint of danger. How to have your wife stay hot, committed, and into you?

How does your book get men and women what they want?

What's the end result and goal of the Unique Selling Proposition? How do they get it, get more of it, and get it now? Like Tim Ferriss's Four-Hour Body and Four-Hour Work-Week, what's your USP?

What do you want the reader to get from the book? More and better sex? Sounds good to me. Art, whether a photo or design art is good. It should get interest and get people to grab that book off the shelf or order it from Amazon.

You mention "Game" on the back cover. For the vast majority of potential readers, they will have no idea what Game is or why they should care. PUA and Game is a subset of the market. Sex covers everyone. Define Game and why we should care or it is confusing.

Just like women get judged by how they look, your book has one or two seconds to sell itself on how hot it is and how irresitable it can be. Is it a 10 or 3? Your cover is a 3. It should be a 10.

I'd have to agree with the commenters. No offense, Athol, but this looks like one of the oh-so-wholesome (and boring, probably useless) marriage guides sold in Christian bookstores and websites. I know you're anxious to get it on the market, but the cover design is extremely important; it speaks to the consumer before the contents and this is saying "wimpy and saccharine." Not bold enough – needs some balls.

(I am a graphic designer in real life – this cover design would get rejected by bosses and clients). Sorry; have to call it as I see it. I've enjoyed your blog and I want to hear that your book is selling well.

I'm also sure you don't want to spend a pile of money on the cover design. Try posting an ad on Craigslist – there's a lot of graphic designers unemployed in today's market; you'd probably get many responses by people willing to negotiate on price.

Athol, please don't listen to Facebook. The cover is lackluster. With the wedding photo, layers of parchment/translucency and purple (?) type, it reads as very feminine.

I've always liked your irreverent, masculine way of looking at things. "By which I mean doing it like rabbits" totally sold me on this blog. Perhaps you could do something more along this lines of The Guide to Getting it On's cover?

Your material is good. Take all feedback from comments with a grain of salt. Unless you happen to know that one of us is some sort of publishing heavyweight and knows what he/she is talking about, keep your own counsel. My general feeling is that a lot of the future sales of this book will grow from word of mouth. The cover, and advertising copy are important. But the content is of primary importance and you've got that down.

I recommend that if you don't believe me or the other graphic designer who posted here about your cover, take a visit to the pub-forum list. Post a link to your cover and you will get tons of feedback from other publishing professionals, many of which are also book cover designers, like Mayapriya Long, one of the List Moms.

I've been in the publishing business for seventeen years and without a doubt, a crap cover will mean crap sales. You know that presentation is everything in relationships and book covers are no different. A good book cover is a display of higher value.

In my honest opinion, this book should appeal more to the male audience. The cover screams wives please pick me up!! Yes, it will grab women, probably older middle aged women more so than men. You want men to get this, go more alpha in the cover. It's probably too late now, but an obscure, unique, or strange cover would pull more attention. Regardless I am buying your book! For complete strangers a different photograph would be more appropriate.

Now have some bold, sans serif type with the title quite large on the front – clean strong type treatment on the back.It's too "soft" right now. Whatcha think, Mr. Kay? I'd be happy to be your designer.

Unfortunately the money we could have spent on all this wonderful stuff was spent on the furnace, cars, illness and visiting my father last year. Jennifer and I are essentially out of time and money for this entire project.

If you have cover ideas you are welcome to send them to me. I can't answer the blog comments during the day at work.

I'm not discounting the possiblity of changing anything, but my mental and physical exhaustion is quite real.